Improved kailway-switch



i @eine gratte 4atrnt @fitte JOHN A. Harn, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS', ASSiGNOn rro HIMSELF, JOSEPH c'. LORING, AND JOHN H. WioeiN, Or SAME'PLAOE.

Letters Patent No'. 81,634, dated September l, 1868.

IMPROVED RAILWAY-SWITCH.

TO ALL PERSONS TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME:

,Be it known that I, JOHN A. HEYL, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new andl useful Improvement in Mechanism for Operating the Switches of a Railway-Track; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification, and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a top view,

Figure 2 a longitudinal section, and

Figure l3 a transverse section of a switch and its `main and turn-out tracks, with my invention for operating the said switch hy means oi' a carriage while running from the main track Itoward theturn-out or sideling, or from the latter-toward the former. i p

v The purpose of the mechanism hereinafter described is to move the switch into alignment with the track upon which it may be desirable to have the carriage travel, and also to hold it firmly imposition while the carriage may be passing over it. Y

OnApril 16, A. D. 1867, Letters PatentNo. 63,794, were granted to me on an improved railway-switch mechanism, which was wantingin two portions or elements incident to my present invention; that is to say, my patented switch-mechanism was not certain to hold the switch firmly in position while the carriage was passing over it, and there was no mechanism for arresting the lateral movements of the lever'arranged between the switch-rails. In my present mechanism1 provisions are made for effecting .the above results.

The patented vmechanism contained not only a shaft having two common and two hell-cranks,'but two inclined bars pivoted to such shaft, and arod extending across the main track, the outer cranks of the rod being pivoted to two connecting-rods. I make use of substantially such devices forv actuating each pair of the connectingwods of my present switch-mechanism, although I have not represented such in the drawings, Such rods being shown at AB and C D in the said drawings. Each pair of such rods issupposed to be applied to Suchel cranked shaft, provided with a pair oi' inclined bars. And there is to be on the axle of the locomotive or railway-carriage, or'on Some other part of such carriage, a wheel 'provided with means of Sliding it laterally, so that when the locomotive or carriage may he approaching the switel1,' the wheel may be movedinto a 4position to roll on and depress that inclined bar, whih may be intended to eiect the desirable movement of the switch, whether the Said movement of the said switch is to be from the ,main track tothe turn-out, or from the latter to the former. l v

In the drawings, E E are the two rails composing the switch; they, at or near one end ofreach, being hinged or jointed to the main-track rails or pivoted to a sleeper, F, arranged at the end ofthe switch. The two switchl l rails I connect by cross-hars G Gr, jointed to them so as t9v cause them, while 'in movement, to maintain their parallelism. The main-track rails are shown at H II, and those ofthe turnout at I I.'

The two pairs of connecting-rods B, C D, are jointed to the two arms Of a lever, K, arranged horizontally to turn the switch-rails, and supported at its centre on a pivot, a, which extends down from a soeketed plate, L, arranged horizontally over the lever, and provided with two curved slots, b 6,' arranged in it as shown in tig. 1. 'llwo studs, e c, project up from the lever K into such slots. Furthermore, there extends from the middle of the lever a toothed sector, cl, which engages with a pinion, e, fixed on a vertical shaft, j', arranged in imanner as represented. The Said shaft has on its upper end a crank, g, to whose wrist there is pivoted a bent arm, h, extended from and jointed to one oi' the rails ofthe switch. i

The slotted plate and the studs above mentioned determine thc extent of movement of the lever, and of course that of the switch, in'either direction. The movement of the crank is limited to one hundred and eighty degrees of a circle, or thereab'outs, each movementof it bringing it into line with the arm, so as to hold the switch rmly in position while the carriage may be travelling over it. When the switch is in connection or alignment with either the main or turn-out rails, the crank is on a, dead-point with the arm, and thus while the crank may be at restthere can be no movement of the switch.

What I claiin as my present invention, is-` The arrangement and combination of the Iarm h, the crank g, its shnftf, pinion e, and the toothed 'sector d, with the lever K, the switch and either or both pairs of connecting-rods A B, C I) opplieci to such lever.

I also claim the combination and arrangement of the studs c c and the slotted plate L, with either or both sets of connecting-rods A B, C D,` the lever K, vthe toothed sector d, the pinion e, the shaft f, the crank g, and the :ii-m z, the whole being applied to tho switch and the road-bed, substantially as specified.

JOHN A. HEYL.

Witnesses:

R.. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

